


Kindled

by WaterRolls



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Antagonists to lovers?, F/M, Fluff and Humor, KonoHana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26436418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaterRolls/pseuds/WaterRolls
Summary: Sparks fly between Konohamaru and Hanabi when they are assigned a mission together.Ever wonder how Himawari developed her byakugan so early, or why Boruto can't draw?A possible explanation in this one-shot, but it can also be a follow-up on their (hint of a) story from my other work, Salvage.Mostly Konohamaru and Hanabi, some NaruHina.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hanabi/Sarutobi Konohamaru, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 8
Kudos: 65





	Kindled

**Author's Note:**

> I played around with the kids’ ages in this story. Apologies if that bothers anyone.

**Prologue**

" _Rasengan!"_

In the middle of the circular Konoha stadium, the boy with the brown hair and blue eyes held the swirling mass of chakra in his hands and ran forward towards his opponent.

His opponent, a girl with long, brown hair, twisted to the right and rotated at a high speed, deflecting the damage of the boy's attack. Her orange kimono with the flame design danced in the eerily quiet stadium as she circled back and countered with quick movements. Her arms were up and her pointed fingers were aimed at the boy's body where she could incapacitate him.

Konohamaru deftly parried her attacks, knowing he couldn't let her hit any of his chakra points. Once she inflicted her damage, he could do nothing to defend against it.

He aimed a swift kick at her midriff and was gratified when he heard her gasp. She backed away and glared at him.

"Come on, Konohamaru!" came Naruto's voice from the stands. "Don't toy with her! If you want to win, you gotta do it fast!"

"Konohamaru! Good luck!" Hinata's supportive voice called out, the sound echoing from the same direction as Naruto's cheer.

He smiled at Hanabi with glee. "You hear that? Even _your_ sister's pulling for me."

Hanabi laughed. "You gullible fool! She's just being nice."

Konohamaru frowned momentarily but the insufferable smile came back. "You should give up. I'm not going to lose. Naruto-niichan is here and I'm proving to him that I'm going to be his greatest rival for the title of Hokage! "

Hanabi took a deep breath, her byakugan on, eyes assessing his stance and observing everything about him. She raised a brow in response but didn't let her guard down. "My sister is watching me, too. I promised _her_ I'll win."

He only taunted her more, trying to goad her further into losing her cool. Konohamaru knew she was a master tactician from what he'd heard from others. He'd done his homework. She was the type of fighter who was quick on her feet and thought during battle.

"Hinata-neechan?" Konohamaru scoffed. "How good can she be? She can't help you now!"

Hanabi drew back with an affronted breath. The look she flashed him was filled with loathing.

Konohamaru smiled wider. He'd hit her where she was most sensitive: her sister.

Hanabi reined in her rage even as her desire to wipe the smirk off his smug face burned within her. She cooled her emotions and thought of the strategies she practiced with Naruto-niisama.

Rasengan could be defended against. She just needed to attack relentlessly.

She took a deep breath.

And in the silence of the crowd, she heard her beloved older sister's voice call out, "Hanabi! You got this!"

It was enough to fuel her drive to win at this stage of the chuunin exams.

She flew at him, throwing as many jabs and punches she could at his body. Her speed was the only thing that could win against his powerful weapon. Yes, Konohamaru had learned the rasengan, but controlling it was still difficult for him. He wasn't at the level that Naruto-niisama's was and she'd sparred against _him_. She could see the way Konohamaru's hands were shaking and the way his shoulders were tense as he strained to maintain the speed and the rotation of its chakra. That means that he was still struggling to manage his rasengan. She needed to distract him with whatever she could.

Hanabi kept up her attack, aiming a swift kick at his face, but he avoided it by jerking back. She crouched down and tried to sweep away his legs. He jumped up and dodged it, but she was ready with another swing of her right arm and another blow with her left hand.

It worked.

Konohamaru was concentrating so much on holding on to his rasengan that he wasn't paying attention to where she was driving him—against the wall. When he finally realized he'd been cornered, he rushed at her, hoping to tackle her but she'd been working on her footwork with her sister. She quickly whirled to the right and still with her byakugan activated, pierced Konohamaru at his side.

He was immobilized in an instant, the rasengan fading as his chakra stopped flowing through his body.

She smiled at him, stepped a foot closer, then gave a gentle push. He fell with a thud to the ground.

Konohamaru found himself paralyzed, looking up at the sky. Then her face came into his sight and blocked his view of the clouds floating above.

"Konohamaru, can you move?" came the examiner's voice.

Konohamaru couldn't answer the question because he couldn't speak.

Hanabi answered for him. "That's a no."

"Winner: Hanabi Hyuuga!" Genma called out.

* * *

_**Ten years later** _

"Babysitting?" came the cool, feminine tone of the long-haired jonin dressed in her orange kimono.

Two shinobi stood in front of the desk and looked at the Hokage, who was grinning at them, a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"No, Hanabi. It's not _just_ babysitting," Naruto explained. "Technically, it's a real mission. I made sure to get bonafide documentation from Shikamaru because this is a legitimate assignment for the two of you. Officially, you are a two-man cell in charge of protecting Konoha citizens."

"No matter how much you spin it, Hokage-sama, it's still baby-sitting," Hanabi said drily.

Naruto laughed but continued smiling at her. "Hanabi, give me a break."

Konohamaru glared at her then stepped forward. "I accept, Hokage-sama. If she doesn't want to do it, then maybe we should find another partner for me?"

Hanabi remained silent and didn't bother glancing at the man next to her.

"Thanks, Konohamaru," Naruto continued. "But I think Hanabi's the perfect partner for you on this assignment."

The Hokage turned back to Hanabi, who still stood aloofly before him.

"It's a _mission_. Hinata and I will be attending Captain Darui's promotion to Raikage at Kumo and will be gone for a week. We need protection for our children," Naruto said.

Hanabi nodded. "I know that."

Naruto continued, "Think about it, Hanabi, I'm entrusting to both of you the lives of my children. You two are perfect for the mission because I know you'll protect them with everything you've got."

"Yes," Hanabi responded. "But I will protect _any_ citizen in Konoha with my life. I only question whether you should've chosen other shinobi who would've been just as suited to this job? Somebody not so familiar, you know, because you're _family_."

" _I'm_ not family," Konoha interjected. "But I'll still do this mission."

She finally acknowledged his presence by turning her head and shooting him a look filled with irritation. He ignored it and she was forced to turn her attention back to the Hokage.

Naruto's glance encompassed the two of them as he smiled and said, "Family or not, I love _both_ of you."

There was a slight widening of Hanabi's eyes and a quick twitch of her lips, the only indication that she felt pleasure at Naruto's words, but she hid her initial reaction with a frown.

"Smooth-talking me won't work," she said in her cool tone.

Meanwhile, beside her, Konohamaru visibly puffed up his chest with pride, his heart shining in his eyes because he was so moved. "Naruto-nii…"

But he corrected himself by bowing and saying, "Hokage-sama."

"You're right, of course, Hanabi. I could have chosen other shinobi," Naruto said. "But I personally want the two of you on this mission because you both love my children and they love _you_ guys."

Konohamaru grinned at Naruto and blushed.

Hanabi only snorted. She turned her head again and swept the tall figure standing next to her with a contemptuous look. Lord, this man—a gullible fool too easily swayed by words from his hero—was going to be her partner for the next week.

As if sensing her thoughts, Konohamaru stiffened next to her and shot her a glare.

Naruto grinned, enjoying the fireworks show but he sensed another presence approaching the Hokage office.

"I asked Kakashi-sensei to join you, but he turned me down flat," he said. Naruto looked over at the corner of the room where the former Hokage had quietly slipped in.

Kakashi shook his head at Naruto. "I still have nightmares from the last time I had to handle diapers. Kushina wanted me to help out when she was pregnant so she tried to train me into changing diapers but she kept beating me so much I couldn't concentrate. She gave up, which ended my foray into babysitting. It got me out of changing dirty diapers."

"Look at you!" Naruto said with a snort. "ANBU at thirteen but defeated by the thought of dirty diapers."

Kakashi held up his hands. "Sorry, I just don't do poop."

"Sir," Konohamaru bowed in greeting to Kakashi, who smiled at him.

"Kakashi-sama," Hanabi said with respect as she turned around and bowed as well to the former Hokage.

"What a nice-looking couple," Kakashi said with a twinkle in his eyes as he surveyed the two antagonists.

The nice-looking couple stiffened in surprise at being labeled this way but said nothing. Konohamaru visibly shuddered. Hanabi only frowned more deeply.

Naruto laughed, making Hanabi turn her attention back to him. The Seventh Hokage's voice turned cajoling. "Hanabi, Himawari learned a new song. She's so cute because she dances along to it. If you ask her to sing it, she'll do it for you…"

Hanabi shot him another dry look, but there was a slight smile on her mouth.

That done, Naruto turned to his protege. "Konohamaru, Boruto's at that impressionable age where he's looking for someone to admire. When he's older, he'll worship the ground you walk on li—"

"Stop right there Hokage-sama!" Konohamaru said. "Say no more. Unlike Hanabi here, I don't need to be convinced to do my _job_."

 _Ooh, Konohamaru was fighting back,_ Hanabi thought with secret delight, but instead, she continued staring at Naruto and said nothing.

Excitement bubbled within her. This might be interesting.

Naruto grinned at her with a knowing look. She finally nodded.

"That's it then. You two will be a two-man cell assigned to protective duty," the Hokage finally said, dismissing them. "Be at my house tomorrow morning at 8:30."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

She was waiting for him at the gates to Naruto's home. Konohamaru could see her slim figure as he slowly approached. She stood still and silent, his nemesis.

When he got closer, he nodded to Hanabi. "Good morning," he said.

She bowed regally. "Konohamaru, good morning," she replied.

Huh, he thought, so she was going to be nice today.

The sound of a high-pitched wail suddenly disrupted the stillness of the morning.

"Tou-chan, don't gooooooooo!"

Both of them recognized the sound of Boruto's voice and Konohamaru grinned at her. She smiled back reluctantly.

The windows to the Uzumaki household were open and the voices of the inhabitants inside carried over to the two waiting shinobi.

"I'm only going to be away for a week, Boruto," came Naruto's reassuring voice. "Konohamaru and Hanabi will be here to keep you company."

"Nii-chan?" Boruto asked, pausing in the middle of a cry.

Konohamaru smiled to himself as he opened the gates and gestured for Hanabi to walk ahead of him. She thanked him with another nod and proceeded to walk towards the front steps. She got to the door and rang the doorbell.

Hinata opened the door immediately, a huge smile on her face and the two-year-old Himawari in her arms. She gave her younger sister a hug and handed her the toddler.

"She's all yours, Hanabi. She's been asking for you nonstop," Hinata said with a laugh.

Himawari was squeezing Hanabi's cheeks in her small hands. "Nee-chan, nee-chan! I love you!"

Hanabi laughed and kissed her niece on the forehead. "Aw, Hima! You're too cute!"

When Konohamaru got close enough, Hinata smiled at him and then pulled him into a fierce hug. "We haven't seen you in a while, Konohamaru. You've been busy since you became jonin!"

Konohamaru returned her hug, even as he saw Naruto through the doorway, frowning at him from inside the house. Boruto was still sobbing and clinging to his father's legs. Konohamaru impishly grinned at Naruto and pressed Hinata closer to his chest. Naruto raised a brow, picked up his son, and headed threateningly for them.

Konohamaru laughed and quickly released Hinata. He held up his hands. "I'm just joking!"

"You need to find your own wife so you can stop touching mine," Naruto said, but his answering laugh wrapped Konohamaru in its warmth as his mentor hugged him in greeting.

Boruto momentarily forgot his sadness as he squealed with happiness when he got caught in the middle of their hug. He held out his arms toward the younger man, who caught him in his arms. "Konohamaru Nii-chan!"

"Hey, Boruto, you've gotten heavier!" Konohamaru said with an exaggerated grunt as he pretended to drop the four-year-old boy.

Boruto laughed with delight as he was suspended in the air, weightless, but he clung to Konohamaru's strong arms.

Naruto smiled at his son. "See, you'll be fine. You need to be brave and protect Hima when your mother and I are gone. Can you do that?"

Boruto teared up again, his mouth quivering as he tried to fight his tears. "Okay," he said with a nod and a tiny sniffle.

His father ruffled his hair. "Be good."

Naruto glanced at Hinata, who had ushered her sister into the house and was giving her final instructions for Hanabi. He turned to his protege, the look on his face serious.

"Listen, Konohamaru. I love you like a brother, but if you do anything to Hanabi, you're _dead_. You take care of her because if you don't, you're going to be dealing with me, Kurama, and the whole Hyuuga clan."

Konohamaru glared at him. "I'm not—"

But Naruto cut him off. "Forget me for a minute, but imagine it, Konohamaru. Hundreds of Hyuugas with their byakugan chasing you… people with the power to see through solid things, stalking you, driving you into a corner. When they finally catch you, they hit your chakra points, your breath leaves you, you feel your body weakening, your consciousness slowly fading as you slowly die…"

Konohamaru swallowed. "I know that! There's no way I would do anything to her. Why would you say that?"

Naruto grabbed Konohamaru's shoulder, his grip strong. "Look, there's a reason why you and I both have the Sexy Jutsu. I _know_ you. Don't forget, you had Ebisu and I had Jiraiya, two of the biggest perverts of Konoha."

He had a point. Konohamaru nodded. "Alright, I get the message."

"Good."

Meanwhile, a few feet away from them, Hinata and Hanabi were having a different conversation.

"Listen, Hanabi, make sure Boruto eats his vegetables. If you guys take him out, just once or twice. That's it. He's developing a taste for junk food. I don't want it to get worse, so not too many burgers, okay?"

"Sure," Hanabi said. "Anything else?"

"No, that's it. I trust you guys so everything will be okay."

Hanabi's gaze turned teasing. "No kids for the next week. I expect you guys to misbehave."

Hinata laughed, hugged her sister, and whispered into her ear, "Oh, don't worry about _that_. We've got a private car on the Thunder Train. We'll put it to good use."

Hanabi grinned. "Nice."

Final hugs and kisses were exchanged until the two shinobi found themselves standing next to each other at the steps with a child in each of their arms. They watched as the Hokage and his wife walked hand-in-hand towards the station.

When the couple finally disappeared from view, Hanabi turned to Konohamaru and said, "I have no choice but to work with you. Just don't get in my way."

Then she walked into the house, leaving him sputtering at the doorway.

* * *

For the sake of the children, the two of them called a silent truce and worked together to settle Boruto and Himawari into a routine. Himawari was fine as she toddled happily in the living room, heading straight for her pink, plush bear.

Boruto's head was buried in Konohamaru's shoulders as he sobbed inconsolably for his father. Once they'd gone into the house, he was suddenly reminded of Naruto's absence and it had set him off again. Hanabi came up and rubbed him on the back, but the boy shook his head and clung to his hero, whose wide shoulders reminded him so much of his father.

Konohamaru felt a spurt of glee as he saw the disappointment on her face, but he kept his expression impassive even as his heart delighted in the blow to her ego. He was perverse enough to take joy in the fact that her own nephew preferred _him_.

She turned back to Himawari and they settled on the floor of the living room. Himawari's toys were soon scattered on the floor.

Konohamaru patted the crying boy on the back. "Hey, now. You promised your dad you'd be brave. All this crying won't help protect everyone, you know."

Boruto made an attempt to stop and hiccuped when Konohamaru spoke. He nodded and wiped his eyes.

"That's better," Konohamaru said with a smile.

* * *

He was good with children, Hanabi thought grudgingly as she listened to Konohamaru talk to Boruto. The boy had finally calmed down and was answering the jonin's questions.

"So you went to see the trains last week?"

"Yeah! So big and so fast!"

"The Thunder Train makes a whooshing sound, like shurikens?"

"Yes! But louder!"

Boruto pushed at Konohamaru's shoulders and jumped up and down when he was set on the floor, demonstrating to him the loud sounds that trains made.

Hanabi smiled at her nephew's antics.

A clatter brought her attention back to Himawari, who was knocking down the blocks that Hanabi had built into a tower. There was a smile of satisfaction on the toddler's face as they came tumbling down.

"Nee-chan, again!"

"Okay, Hima."

That night, they ate dinner at the family table, eating the food that Hinata had left for them.

Konohamaru sighed when he was done. "Once again, your sister's cooking is fantastic."

Hanabi nodded, acknowledging her sister's skill in the kitchen. "Yes, she was always good at that."

She wiped at Himawari's dirty face and grinned at the equally messy Boruto across the table. "I won't tell your mom you played with your food, but you need a bath. You're hopeless."

Boruto's face lit up. "A bath?"

"Yes, before going to bed."

"Bed?" His face fell. He looked at Konohamaru, hoping for a reprieve.

He shook his head at the boy and smiled. "What your aunt said. Bath, then bed."

Boruto looked defeated, but he said, "Okay."

Konohamaru looked at Hanabi. "Do you want me to give them both a bath? Or would you like me to do the dishes?"

Unexpectedly, inside her, she felt a tug at her heart. Wow, a man who helps with housework. Somebody secure enough in his masculinity to not find it beneath him to help with "women's work." The fact that he'd offered to help her made him rise in her estimation.

She gazed at Konohamaru, who was trying to keep Boruto from smashing his peas on the table.

Hanabi wondered why he was still single.

But wait, _was_ _he_? She hadn't heard anything about that.

Instead, she said, "I'll do the dishes if you can take care of the kids."

He nodded at her.

Just then, Himawari slid out of her high chair and toddled up to Konohamaru. She reached her arms up. "Kono-nii!" she yelled.

He smiled at her and picked her up. She put her hands on his cheeks and squeezed, puckering his lips. "I love you!" she said as she kissed him flush on the mouth.

Konohamaru felt his heart turn over at Himawari's innocent affection. He laughed and hugged her, making her giggle helplessly.

Hanabi glared at her. "Himawari, you traitorous flirt! You told me you loved me this morning and now you're in love with someone else this evening. Don't be so free with your affection like that!"

Himawari only gazed at her with an angelic expression as she continued patting Konohamaru on the cheeks. Boruto didn't even blink as he continued making mountains with his mashed potatoes.

"Oh, she learned that from Tou-chan. He does it to Kaa-chan all the time!"

When the kids were put to bed, Konohamaru made himself comfortable on the sofa while Hanabi commandeered the master bedroom. It was directly above the living room.

He listened to her getting ready to settle in to sleep and wondered why someone like her was still single. She was attractive—if you could get past her prickly personality. She was fit and athletic with intelligent lavender eyes in an elfin face framed by long, dark hair. She came from a prestigious clan, and she was wealthy. She should have been married long ago to some unfortunate fool who would have fallen for her.

If she didn't hate him so much, he probably would have asked her out ages ago, but something about her always rubbed him the wrong way. He found her arrogant, haughty, and condescending. As shinobi, she was admirable, one of the finest in all of Konoha. Her skills and her reputation for being fierce were known far and wide.

Unfortunately for him, she was _exactly_ his type. As much as he tried, he couldn't deny the fact that she was incredibly sexy. Yeah, she gave him a lot of shit for the stupidest things but he was honest enough to admit he found it a little bit of a turn-on. But only a little bit, though.

Despite that, Hanabi always triggered his animosity and it just seemed like his natural reaction to her whenever she was near.

Of course, it had nothing to do with him losing to her ten years ago during their fated match at the chuunin exams.

He heard a thud and a vicious curse from upstairs.

He grinned to himself, enjoying her discomfort as he heard her complain loudly about a stubbed toe.

Nope, nothing to do with his crushing defeat to her at all.

* * *

Hanabi woke up to a strange bed, a wider one than her own at home. She stretched luxuriously then sighed. She heard loud snores coming from downstairs and she grinned to herself. That's right. Konohamaru was downstairs, sleeping on the sofa.

When she got to the living room, she took a moment to watch him sleep. He was on his side, his hands tucked under his left cheek over the pillow. He looked boyishly handsome, reminding her all those years ago when she'd faced off against him at the Konoha stadium. Back then, her only desire had been to wipe the floor with him and erase that insufferable smirk on his face.

These days, though, she found herself filled with a different type of desire. She wanted to run her fingers through his luxurious brown hair and touch his face—when he wasn't always glaring at her.

Last night, when she'd seen how great he was with Himawari, she couldn't help but admire a man whose easy-going personality inspired so much affection from children. Sure, he was a familiar face to her niece and nephew, but he was very gentle with them. It made him even more enticing in her eyes.

She gathered the blanket that had fallen off him and placed it over his sleeping form. She gave his face one last look then went into the kitchen to get breakfast ready for everyone.

* * *

Konohamaru woke up to the smell of coffee and the chatter of two little voices close to his face.

"Shh, Himawari, don't touch him or you'll wake him up. Hanabi-neechan told us not to wake him, to let him rest," Boruto warned his sister.

 _Really? That was kind of her,_ Konohamaru thought. He kept his eyes closed and waited to see what the children would do.

"Wanna play," Himawari said. He could hear the pout in her voice.

"Wait until he wakes up," whispered Boruto.

"Wanna play," Himawari said again, this time with a whine.

Konohamaru's lips twitched and he finally opened his eyes to see two pairs of blue eyes gazing at him solemnly. When they saw him wake up, Himawari reached forward to squeeze his cheeks again and Boruto yelped with excitement. Konohamaru suddenly grabbed both of them, threw them onto the sofa, and started tickling them. The room echoed with their hysterical giggling.

Hanabi walked in with a smile, making her look younger and more relaxed than he'd ever seen her.

"Alright guys, time for breakfast."

Konohamaru gave the kids one last tickle, tucked each one under an arm, and carried them in the direction of the dining room.

"Morning, Hanabi," he said, the smile still on his face.

She flashed him a look from under her lashes that froze him and made him momentarily lose his breath.

"Good morning, Konohamaru," she said in a tone he'd never heard before. Then she turned around and slowly walked into the kitchen.

He frowned at her retreating back but his eyes were drawn to the gentle sway of her hips.

_What the hell was that look all about?_

* * *

It was raining today, which washed away their plans to bring the children to the park. Instead, they found themselves stuck indoors. Boruto had dragged Konohamaru to the kitchen table where they sat doing some coloring.

Himawari chose instead to make a mess of her toys on the carpet. In a few minutes, the floor was littered with blocks, puzzle pieces, and dismembered body parts from her dolls.

Because she was bored, Hanabi decided to educate her young niece.

She picked up Himawari in her arms, who smiled up expectantly at her. "Nee-chan?"

"Hima, show me your fingers."

Himawari did.

"Okay, now make a fist. Can you do that?"

Himawari made a small fist and showed her aunt.

"Oh, good," Hanabi said with pride. "Can you put your pointer and middle finger together?"

She held up her hand into the byakugan position and showed her niece what she wanted her to do.

Himawari struggled to follow along with her fingers but couldn't control her movements.

Hanabi helped her niece do it and manipulated Himawari's fingers to the position she wanted.

"Now pay attention, okay? Hima, this spot right here controls breathing. You say byakugan then hit it directly. If you push hard enough, it cuts off airflow."

Hanabi used her own body to demonstrate. She took the toddler's fingers and placed them on the spot right above her collarbone, over the skin peeking out of her orange kimono.

"This one," she said, as she took the toddler's fingers and aimed it at her solar plexus, "will knock out an opponent for days. It's very useful."

There was a gasp from the kitchen table. Then Konohamaru's voice called out, "Hanabi! What the hell are you teaching her? She's only _two_!"

Hanabi frowned at him then made a slashing motion with her hand. "Irrelevant!"

She smiled back at her niece. To Konohamaru, the smile looked a little demented.

"She's a Hyuuga. She needs to start training with her byakugan as soon as she can," Hanabi continued.

Himawari squirmed in her arms, indicating she wanted to get down. Her aunt set her down on the floor. As soon as she was free, she headed straight for her teddy bear. Himawari pointed her fingers at her plushy, aimed right for the toy's tummy, and jabbed with all her might.

"Bagan! Bagan!" she chirped in her childish voice.

"Oh, good girl, Hima!" Hanabi crowed with pleasure. "One more time. Aim a little higher!"

"Bagan!"

Konohamaru only looked on with horror as Himawari kept hitting the bear with her fingers.

Seeing that her niece was happily engaged with her toy, Hanabi wandered over to where he and Boruto were working.

She glanced at the various drawings strewn across the kitchen table and picked up the paper closest to her.

Hanabi looked at the picture of a badly drawn sunny-side egg. In the middle, where the yolk was, there was a happy face with fangs. She smiled at her nephew. "This is a nice drawing, Boruto. Did Mommy make you a sunny-side egg for breakfast yesterday morning?"

Boruto was scribbling furiously at his paper, making animal noises, growling, but he looked up at her when she called his attention. He squinted at the picture she held for him to see.

"Hanabi-neechan! That's a _lion_ , not an egg!" he said as he roared with laughter. "That's not mine! _This_ one is _my_ lion."

He picked up a similar-looking sunny side egg with a face, but this one had more flair. Scribbles of purple, orange, and green were all over it.

"A lion, huh?" she gazed with disbelief at the picture in her hand then glanced at Konohamaru, who was now blushing furiously and refusing to look at her. "Hm."

After a few minutes of silence, Konohamaru stopped drawing the bear he was working on and finally made eye contact with her. Her eyes were glinting with pity and amusement.

"Konohamaru, you forgot the lion's ears," was all she added for advice.

She put the drawing down and smiled at Boruto. "When Mommy comes back, let her teach you how to draw, okay? We don't want you to develop bad habits. You need to learn how to draw _properly_."

And she walked away.

* * *

She was evil, Hanabi Hyuuga.

Konohamaru could only glare at her when she turned her back.

Just when he was beginning to think she wasn't bad and was actually pretty cool, she'd done something to piss him off again.

He looked at the "lion." _Properly_ , my ass. So he can't draw. Still, she didn't need to be so mean about it. There was no way his badly drawn pictures were going to influence Boruto in the future.

But as he looked at his egg-lion, he had to admit that she had a point. It _was_ pretty terrible. He wasn't going to let her have the satisfaction of agreeing with her out loud, though. He grinned to himself. Oh, well. There was nothing he could do about it. Drawing was one of those useless skills he'd never cared about and never worked on.

His stomach growled.

He looked at Boruto. "I'm hungry. You want lunch?"

Boruto looked up with an eager expression. "Lighting burgers!"

Konohamaru laughed. "Nope, sandwiches. That's all I can make."

He turned to Hanabi, who was still playing with Himawari on the floor. He knew she'd heard him about lunch.

"Is that okay with you, Hanabi?"

"Yes," she said as she looked up at him, a small smile around her lips. "Perfectly fine, thank you."

Hmm, he thought, as he walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Maybe she was starting to warm up to him.

* * *

Or not.

For the next few days, Konohamaru and Hanabi diligently worked together to keep the animosity between them in check. On one of the occasions that Hanabi had lost her temper and yelled at Konohamaru, they'd found the two children watching with fascination as the two adults frowned at each other.

"Ooh, wrinkles!" Himawari had said when she reached up to touch Hanabi on the forehead.

Konohamaru coughed and hid his laughter on his shoulder. Feeling like they all needed a breather, he opened the door to the backyard and stepped out. He invited the children to play outside. They followed him quickly, leaving Hanabi staring at them with a disgruntled look on her face. She joined them soon after.

She kept her cool the rest of the day and only spoke to him when necessary. Tomorrow, Naruto and Hinata were finally coming home. Though he was happy enough to spend time with the children, being in close proximity with Hanabi wrecked his peace of mind.

Despite her antagonism towards him, she was too attractive for his own good. When she hadn't been looking, he couldn't help his eyes straying towards her figure, making him wonder what was underneath that kimono.

It would be good to be away from her once the mission was over.

When he stepped out of the shower that night, he found her in the living room. The night was quiet as the kids were in their respective bedrooms. It had taken Konohamaru all his patience to wrestle Boruto into bed. He'd been full of energy the entire day and had resisted bedtime. His parents were finally coming home tomorrow and he'd been too excited for the return of his father.

"Your turn, Hanabi," he said quietly. "Bathroom's all yours."

She glanced at him and nodded, but she didn't leave from her spot.

She was looking at the family photos of the Uzumakis that were hanging on the wall. To him, there was a wistful air about her. She sighed.

"Must be nice," she murmured under her breath. "I only wish…"

Konohamaru hadn't meant to eavesdrop but he'd heard her and he felt a spurt of sympathy for her. So Hanabi wished for a family of her own, too. He looked at her petite form and thought she would find a good man someday. A man who would appreciate her feistiness, her intelligence, and her beauty.

There was another sigh from her. She had moved a few steps to the right and was now staring at the photo of Hinata and Naruto when they'd been first dating, when they'd had no children.

He frowned. She kept staring at the picture. To him, it looked like she was gazing too intently at Naruto's face. 

_I only wish…_ she'd said.

Wait a minute. Was Hanabi _in love_ with Naruto-niichan?! Did she wish she'd gotten together with him first before her older sister?

Sympathy for her disappeared as Konohamaru felt irritation rising within him.

Damn! Are _all_ the freaking Hyuugas in love with Naruto?! Even Hiashi _adored_ Naruto.

He strode up to her and confronted her. "What the hell's wrong with you?!" he yelled. "He's your sister's husband!"

Hanabi gasped and the look she flashed him eviscerated him. "Excuse me?" she said in a tone that cut glass. "What the _hell_ are you talking about?!"

"I'm talking about you coveting your sister's husband!"

"Naruto-niisama?!" she shouted in disbelief. " _Ew!_ Why would you say that? He's my _brother-in-law!_ "

"Right," he said in a voice that said he didn't believe her. "You were only looking at their picture with a look of jealousy."

"I was looking at my sister's photo! At her _boobs_!"

Konohamaru suddenly flushed. "What?!"

She pointed to the photo on the wall of Hinata in her younger years wearing her form-fitting mission gear. "In case you haven't noticed, my sister has amazing breasts."

He knew better than to say anything out loud.

Then she pointed to her own chest and gave an angry huff. "What's the point of being Heir to the Hyuuga if you don't have any useful assets?!" she complained, holding her hands in front of her in the shape of mountains.

Apparently, being heir to an illustrious clan with power, money, and access to an army of well-trained warriors equipped with a destructive visual jutsu was nothing compared to a pair of huge breasts.

Konohamaru kept his thoughts to himself, but he suddenly felt ridiculous for misreading her. He felt the flush deepening on his face.

"I'm sorry, Hanabi," he started to say, but she wouldn't let him apologize properly.

"Ugh, you have some nerve ripping into me like that!" she said as she approached him and jabbed at his chest. "You don't even know me!"

"I said I'm so—" he tried again.

"What the hell kind of girl do you think I am?!"

"Okay!" Konohamaru held his arms up to show her he was contrite for the whole thing.

"And mind your own freaking business!"

"I mind my business," he said. "It's _you_ who won't leave me alone! Always picking on me."

"Listen to yourself!" She scowled at him. "Here I was, minding my own business, talking to myself but _you_ had to go and butt in on my thoughts!"

"Yeah, yeah! I said I'm sorry already!" he muttered angrily, raking a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Just stay the hell away from me, Konohamaru!"

"Got it! Good night!" he growled as he turned around, heading for the couch.

She gave an irritated huff and didn't bother to respond.

"What do you expect from a cheater," he mumbled to himself.

The next thing he knew, he was on the floor and she was on top of him, her arm pressed to his neck, cutting off his breathing. Her face was mere inches from his, her lavender eyes promising him agony.

_Damn._

Hanabi activated her byakugan and pierced a chakra point on his arm. His head was throbbing painfully from banging hard onto the carpet, but at least he could finally breathe and talk.

"Say that again," she hissed.

"You. Are. A. Cheat," he enunciated clearly into her furious face.

She sat up and folded her arms. She straddled his abdomen and looked down on him contemptuously.

"Are you still sore about losing to me during the chuunin exams?"

His eyes blazed at her. "You cheated! You trained with Naruto-niichan and his rasengan."

She snorted. "I didn't _cheat_ , as you put it. I took advantage of the resources available to me. My sister happened to be dating Naruto-niisama at that time and I asked him to spar with me. Why didn't _you_ do the same and ask my sister? You could've trained with her and her byakugan to find ways to beat me!"

That put him up short and stilled his struggles. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"My sister offered to help you but you brushed her off."

He frowned. "No, she didn't!"

"Yes, she _did_. I know because I followed her. She clearly offered to help you. I heard the conversation."

Konohamaru suddenly remembered. Weeks before their match, he'd pestered Naruto to train him, but the older shinobi had suggested to him to ask Hinata instead. " _She's_ got a byakugan. Don't forget, your opponent fights the same way. Training with Hinata's a better option than me because we're similar, Konohamaru. You're only learning how to fight someone with the same weapon."

Even though Naruto had mentioned it to him, he'd refused to approach Hinata. On one occasion, when she'd run into him in town she'd suggested that they train together for his match. He'd shaken his head and had politely refused her offer. Not only that, but he'd also underestimated Hanabi. She was two years younger than him and petite. How much power could a girl like her pack into her fists?

"Don't be so dense!" Naruto had chided him. "Hanabi's tiny, but she's _fierce_."

He looked up now at Hanabi who was glaring down at him fiercely.

"That offer wasn't sincere. I didn't think your sister was going to really help me," Konohamaru said. "Why _would_ she?"

Her hands twisted into fists as she grabbed a handful of his shirt and raised his face towards her furious face. "Don't you _dare_ blame my sister for your incompetence!"

"Stop jumping down my throat all the time!" he yelled back. "I'm not blaming her one bit. I didn't think she'd help me out since she's _your_ sister. It would be like she was helping the enemy, see?"

Hanabi frowned and released his shirt, making him wince as his head hit the carpet for the second time that night.

She shook her head. "You don't know anything about the two of them, do you? Because my sister loved Naruto-niisama, she wanted to help _you_ out because you're his protege. It was the same with me and him."

Then she scoffed at him and gave him a contemptuous look. "Face it, Konohamaru. You lost because it was your own damned fault. You refused help that was kindly meant, and you underestimated me. It wasn't because I _cheated_."

Konohamaru closed his eyes. Shit, she was right, as much as he hated it. He needed to stop being a baby about the whole thing. It happened ten years ago and they were both jonin now.

"Seems like you're finally being sensible about this," she said into the silence. "I'm releasing the jutsu."

Then he felt her fingers touching his arm.

* * *

She was impressed that he was able to do it. He'd taken her by surprise and had her completely at his mercy.

The problem when you're petite is that it was nearly impossible to dislodge yourself when you find yourself pinned to the carpet by a man twice your weight. Her arms were held down by the strong grip of his hands. Her legs, meanwhile, were covered by his and anchored to the floor. Even if she tried, she wouldn't be able to move her legs to knee him in the groin.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Hanabi," he said. "I just want you to listen to me then I'll let you up."

"Really?" she answered, but she wasn't worried at all.

"I'm sorry I blamed you all this time for me losing the chuunin exams. You're right, I should've thought more clearly about my strategy."

She raised a brow then said, "Apology accepted."

But he was still frowning at her, his dark blue eyes puzzled. "But why do you hate me so much?"

His fresh, soapy scent wafted down to her and the heat of his body pressed into hers. She found it really pleasant. Hate was the last thing on her mind.

She smiled at him. "I don't hate you, Konohamaru. In fact, I find you extremely attractive."

"What?!" He glared at her suspiciously as soon as his initial surprise waned. It was another ruse. He wouldn't put it past her to use some kind of trick to get him to lower his guard then knee him in the balls.

"You liar," he said. Even as he said it, he couldn't help but notice that she wore a citrusy perfume that surprised him. He'd expected her to have a flowery scent, but it made a lot of sense. Just like her, her perfume was tart and sweet.

"I'm not lying."

He gazed at her for a long minute, fighting the surge of pleasure he'd felt when she'd said she was attracted to him. Unfortunately, though, another part of his body was also responding to her proximity and he was mortified that he couldn't control that reaction.

"Oh," she suddenly said when she realized what was pressing hard against her abdomen.

"It's not what you think!" he started to protest.

"No?" she murmured with amusement. "Too bad."

Then she leaned up and kissed him on the mouth.

The first touch of her soft lips against his made him loosen his grip on her wrists. He brought one hand to cup the back of her head. She was still straining upward to kiss him, so with his mouth, he pushed her face down towards the carpet.

Konohamaru wasn't going to question her motives. If she wanted to kiss him, he was going to let her. Her tongue suddenly darted out to lick the seam of his lips, making him gasp in surprise. His other hand reached to cup her jaw, deepening the kiss. She responded by opening her mouth more. Her freed hands then went to his hair and his breath left him as he felt her fingers gently caressing the back of his head.

His lips busy moving over hers, he let his hand drift down the column of her throat and down to her kimono, cupping and squeezing one of her breasts. His hand moved to cup the other one and did the same.

In his humble opinion, they were perfect and she didn't need to compare hers to her sister's.

She sighed languorously against his mouth.

"Konohamaru," she whispered. "Do that again and I'll _kill_ you."

He laughed when she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Sorry!"

"Ask me out first then we can get to that hurdle."

He grinned at her. "Okay."

Then he leaned down and kissed her briefly again on the lips.

He grinned at her. "Hanabi Hyuuga, Queen of Impertinence, will you go out with me, a mere mortal who's not worthy to be in your presence?"

She laughed. "Tomorrow evening, pick me up at my place after we're done with this mission. Take me out to dinner _then_ you can take me to your place."

"You're a pushy woman."

"Do you want to get beyond first base or not?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

"Tou-chan!"

Boruto was already leaping up into the air and flying into his father's arms before he could even finish saying it.

Naruto caught him and squeezed hard. He pressed a kiss against the top of his son's head as Konohamaru and Hanabi came out of the house to welcome him and Hinata back.

"How were they?" Naruto asked.

"Good!" Hanabi answered, Himawari tucked at her hip. The little girl was waiting patiently for her mother, who was walking up to them on the steps.

"Mama," she said and her palms were already squeezing her mother's cheeks. "I love you!"

Hinata laughed. "Oh, Himawari. I missed you, too."

Konohamaru smiled at both of them. "How was the ceremony?"

"Oh, it was amazing! Killer Bee is always a riot and I'm so glad Darui's Raikage now. They made a great choice. He's coming in a few months to visit Konoha for official diplomatic duty," Naruto said.

"That's fantastic," Hanabi said as she hugged her sister.

"Yes," Hinata said. "Were the children good? Did they misbehave?"

"Oh, they were angels!"

Hinata's smile glinted as she looked at Konohamaru, whose eyes were glued to the back of her younger sister's head. She gazed speculatively at Hanabi.

"How about _you_ guys?" Hinata asked. "Did you guys behave?"

"Yes," Hanabi responded with a glare.

"Oh, that's too bad!" Hinata said with a laugh. "I was really hoping you guys didn't."

"Onee-sama!"

But Hanabi briefly glanced behind her and shot a sultry look at Konohamaru, who beamed back.

He couldn't wait to spend the evening with just her later that night.


End file.
